Hello guys! I know it’s been awhile but I’m back. I am going to blog in a few days about my oldest turning 9, latest dramas with the middle and of course all of the crazy antics with the little. I’ll just leave you with these three things, broken iPad, knives and potty training. I just haven’t been in the right mindset to write about my little devils angels.

But I did want to share with you guys about the newest Kwik Stix product from The Pencil Grip. I know that you have read about them on my blog before back in my original Kwik Stix Review. If you missed it, click here to read about the original product. They also took part in my 1st Holiday Gift Giveaway. Well this time I can say that I love them even more. In my original review I mentioned that the only downside was that they needed to be a little thinner. The older kids had trouble staying in the lines when painting. Well, they listened to me (ok, I am sure that it was already in the works when I did my review, but I am going to take credit for it. Kidding).

Check out the latest Thin Stix.

Sorry that I didn’t snap clearer pics of the packaging but Owen was grabbing them out of my hand and ripped open the box! See here’s the proof

Once again I just hand Owen some paper and his “paints” and he goes to town. They are non-toxic and the paint dries so quickly I don’t have to worry about messes. I can actually get a few things done while he’s painting me beautiful pictures of circles. I don’t have to help him because he’s a pro at using them now. He can uncap them, paint and then clean up. But I did just discover that he did a little art project off the paper and onto my kitchen table. Thankfully these Thin Kwik Stix are so awesome that it came off very easily (even after sitting for a few days).

They work on paper, wood, cardboard and more. This time we tested them out the wood! My older boys had to design and paint their pinewood derby cars for cub scouts. Well Owen was so excited that he wanted in on it too. Now this was the morning of the race and we didn’t have time to cut his car, so he just painted his block of wood. We installed the wheels and he was able to race as a sibling in the derby. Unfortunately his Trolls car didn’t place. Ha! But we painted it and within minutes it was dry and ready to go. The boy loved his car. He still takes it to bed every night. And the best part, the paint has not rubbed off at all onto any of his bedding! I mean how cute is his car! And it was all done using his Thin Kwik Stix.

Once again I cannot say anything bad about this wonderful paint from Kwik Stix. They now have a large variety of Kwik Stix. You can find the original ones, the thin ones, you can also order them in neon or metallic colors. They have small starter sets and then larger sets as well. Go ahead and order them, you will love them. As always they are available on their website The Pencil Grip or on Amazon. If you have young ones in the house that love to paint but you hate the bowls of water, the dripping messes, etc. then I definitely recommend Kwik Stix. We cannot get enough of them in our house. They are non-toxic, convenient and so easy to use. Just ask Owen!!!!

Okay folks, the time has come for my very first holiday gift guide and giveaway. I have done product reviews and giveaways in the past but nothing ever like this. This is huge! I have so many awesome things that I can’t wait to share with you. No I wasn’t paid to do any of this. I am doing this because I love all of you and I love the products that I am sharing with you. Yes, some of them I was asked to review and blog about but I am only sharing the ones that I love and would use even if I wasn’t asked to write a review in the past. I am picky about which products I review and I only pick ones that I think will appeal to my readers and their families. After checking out all of these awesome items, make sure that you enter the contest below. There are a few free entries and a ton of other ones that you may need to work for. But it’s worth it. Whoever wins, will get something from every vendor or company on this list! Whether it’s an actual product, a discount code or a code for a freebie. I’m just giving you some ideas on gifts for you family, friends, teachers and anyone else that you give to during Christmas, Hanukkah, birthdays or any other holiday.

First up is something that is for the adults on my page. Wine glasses! You guys all know by now that I love my wine. I love drinking out of cute glasses too. One day I was searching Etsy for teacher gifts and found Kelly, the owner of MADPainterVA. She has been my source of wine glasses for over a year now. I have purchased quite a few glasses for the kids teachers (hey I figure that if they have to teach one of my kids then they must need wine). I have purchased special ones for my friends and I have even ordered a special University of Delaware one for myself. MADPainterVA has a ton to pick from on her Etsy page, but I have sent Kelly images (like my UD glass) and she just whips it up and within 2-3 weeks its on my doorstep. I also love that they are HUGE glasses, not tiny little sample ones. Here are some pictures of a few that I have ordered from her in the past. Oh and for all of you LuLaRoe lovers she has a glass for you too. MADPainterVA offers a ton of personalized, hand painted glassware, ornaments and more. Check out MADPainterVA now! You can find the perfect gift for almost everyone on your list. Oh and while typing this up I just noticed that she has Five Nights at Freddy’s ornaments! I might have to go order a few for the boys now since they are obsessed!

Next up is Illumibowl, the motion-activated toilet night light. Yes, I know it sounds funny but trust me it is pretty cool and becoming a pretty popular item.

I love this product, especially since I live in a house of all boys. The Illumibowl was featured on Shark Tank recently and has become a huge hit. I have a sleepwalker (or a sleep pee’er is that even a word?). He likes to wake up and hit the bathroom in the middle of the night. The problem is, he never hits the bowl. But leaving the light on is a huge pain for the other kids (and my husband hates when lights are left on). So here comes the Illumibowl. You connect it to the side of your toilet and set the color feature (you pick one color or you can have it rotate) and when it senses motion in the bathroom, it turns on. The bowl now glows at night so the wonderful men/boys in your life can aim a little better at 3am. It’s a huge hit and I love their newer model (here’s my review from the last model: Illumibowl Review). The new model attaches to the bowl a little easier and will stay in place better. Check out their video from their time on Shark Tank.

You can find the Illumibowl at their website Illumibowl.com, Amazon.com, Bed, Bath and Beyond and Walmart. For my wonderful readers, in case you don’t win, you can still get a great deal on the Illumibowl. Click here to order your own and use the discount code IRISHMAMA for a great deal.

Another product that I have picked for you guys is called Kwik Stix.

Sean loved these when I reviewed them awhile back (Kwik Stix Review). He loved painting but I hated the mess. But these are different. There’s no water, no paint brushes, just a clean Kwik Stix. So now there’s no mess and they dry pretty darn quickly.

Now that I have Owen in the painting stage, I was excited to pull these back out of my craft closet. He loves them and I enjoy that there’s NO MESS!!! Since I did my last review on Kwik Stix, they have come out with some new products and you can purchase them in Target. I mean I know that we are all there a few times a week (don’t deny it, I run into you guys all of the time). These are a perfect as a stocking stuffer or just for your every day crafts. Kwik Stix is giving our lucky winner two items. The winner will receive a 6 pack of Metalix colors and a 6 pack of basic colors. But remember you can find them online here, or at your local Target.

One of my favorite things to do around the holidays is decorate. I love the way that my house feels when it’s clean and decorated for Christmas. It makes my house feel like a nice cozy home.

I always buy garland and wreaths from Target or craft stores but I never have bought a real wreath. Last year I received one from Jen’s Wreathsand I loved it.

The smell of this wreath was wonderful. It was so pretty and delivered in a wonderful box so it wasn’t smushed at all. You can read my review from last year here (Jen’s Wreaths) She sells wreaths, swags, centerpieces and the most adorable candy cane shaped wreaths too! And they are delivered right to your door in time for the holidays. I just ordered my traditional wreath the other day. I can’t wait until it arrives! My front door looks naked without it. One lucky winner will receive both items below. A gorgeous holiday swag as well as the traditional wreath. You can always head on over to her website and order any style today. Feel free to use her current promo code BLACKFRIDAY for 10% off plus free shipping

When Owen started eating solids I knew that I wanted him to have real food! But I didn’t have time to make my own. Luckily around the time he was ready to eat, Beech-Nut came out with their 100% Natural Baby Food. They had wonderful flavors that weren’t just the gross combos that other baby food companies made. These were actually enjoyable and Owen loved them. Plus they were so healthy for him. You can read all about their original products on my previous review here (Beech-Nut Review)

Now Beech-Nut is selling Coldpurée pouches. It’s a new line of products available in select stores around the country.

Beech-Nut is always innovating with the goal to make parents’ lives easier, so with convenience in mind, Beech-Nut’s nutritious food for babies is now hands-free. They still use the same unique cooking method as their Naturals and Organic jars – which they call the coldpuree method so you know that you are getting the exact same healthy food. One lucky winner will receive the four pack pictured above! I was tempted to open them up for Owen, since they are perfect snacks for when we are on the go (aka at Target) but don’t worry, I saved them for you guys!

Last but certainly not least is a new product from Auro Yoga.

They sell a huge variety of yoga products from mats, to bags, clothing and a variety of other yoga accessories. Their latest product is their beach and swim towel.

I received one a few weeks ago but since it’s a little too chilly here in NJ I couldn’t test it out at the pool or the beach. But I did try it out after my showers. I absolutely love the over sized towel. This will be perfect at the beach for the kids. I can use it to dry off more than one kid or I can set up down on the sand and have two kids sit for their snacks. It’s huge! It’s made out of a very suber absorbent microfiber so you will dry off quickly.

You can find their products over at their website or on Amazon. Just make sure that you use my discount code 2016ERIN to receive 20% off today!

So are you ready for the giveaway guys. Here’s what one lucky winner will receive:

** Erin the Irish Mama was not compensated for these review, but I did receive free products to test out. All opinions are my own **

This promotion is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with Facebook. You understand that you are providing your information to the owner of this Facebook page and not to Facebook.

I was approached a few weeks ago to test out some new products for my family. The company is called Caboo and they make a variety of ecologically sustainable paper products such as toilet paper, tissues, baby wipes, etc. I have never really given any thought about the products that I use for my family. I never focused on how bad they were for the environment or maybe how unsafe they were for my kids. So I thought that I would give them a try.

I received a variety of products from Caboo. I received a ton of baby wipes, tissues, napkins as well as toilet paper. The nice thing about Caboo products is that their paper products are made from fast-growing, renewable sugarcane and bamboo instead of trees. They are also 100% biodegradable.

The first thing that I tried out was the toilet paper. Let me say that I am very picky about my toilet paper and I was very impressed. The roll isn’t huge so with a house full of boys, we did go through it very quickly but it was soft and very gentle. I don’t think that anyone in the house noticed that I switched out from our normal t.p. which is a good sign!

The Caboo Toilet Paper is:

Biodegradable & Septic Safe

Whitened without Chemicals containing Chlorine Bleach

Fragrance Free

BPA Free

Non-GMO Certified

Soft & Strong 2-Ply

Next, I jumped into the baby wipes. They were also very nice. It has an aloe scent, which wasn’t my favorite, but I usually buy scent free wipes. But the scent wasn’t bad or offensive, just not what I am used too. They worked wonderfully on Owen. It’s also nice to read from Caboo that they are hypoallergenic, paraben and chlorine free as well as BPA free. Finally my kids bum was getting the royal treatment. He didn’t notice anything different and they worked great for us. Another great product.

Finally I tried the napkins and the tissues. The napkins were awesome as well. I switched these out with what I normally put out for dinner or send to school for lunch. Again, no complaints. They worked great and absorbed all of my kids messes (and they make a lot of messes – trust me). Finally, I tried out the tissues. They were not my favorite of the Caboo products but only because the first few were hard to get out of the box. I felt like I wasted 5-6 just trying to get one out without ripping. Once I took a few out, it was fine. They were your standard tissue. Not super soft but definitely not too rough. Another great product from Caboo.

Overall, I was very impressed by all of the products that Caboo sent to me. I am not one to run out and buy environmental friendly products, I usually stick to whats on sale at the store but I was pretty impressed by these products. I also liked the fact that my kids were using products that were not harmful to them or to the environment.

Want to find out more about Caboo and their products, then check out their video here below.

Where to Buy:

You can find a variety of Caboo products at your local Wegmans or Whole Foods. You can also check out their page here for other locations near you.

** Erin the Irish Mama was not compensated for this review, but I did receive free products to test out. All opinions are my own **

So I have had to accept that my little guy Owen, is no longer a baby. He is a bike riding, car driving, wall climbing crazy man. He has grown up so much since he turned two in December. Right now we are in that little phase called the terrible twos. He is quite the handful but he’s a cute handful. I could probably write a trilogy of books based on this kids 2 years of life.

Right now we are trying to phase out some of the sippy cups. He mastered them pretty quickly when he turned one. Well now I am in the phase of trying to get them off of the sippy cups and into a normal kids cup. But there’s always a transition stage there as well. This kid is the king of spilling drinks {and I thought that Sean took the top prize in that category}. Well straw cups were the next thing that I wanted him to master. He seems to have done pretty well with them but they don’t always travel well or stay cold long enough. But this Nuby No Spill Insulated Stainless Steel Flip-It Clik-it Cup seems to work well for Owen. He can easily flip open the lid to drink. He can even shut it himself so that his drink stays cold for several hours.

Everyone knows what happens if you misplace a sippy cup in your car for a few hours during the hot summer months. As a parent to three boys, you learn to never, ever open that cup to see what’s inside. If you do, you will regret it. That cup immediately goes into the trash. Well over the past few months of using this Nuby cup, I have left it in the car by accident one or two times and I didn’t have to ditch it. Thankfully I found it after just a few hours but amazingly the cup wasn’t stinky and the milk was still chilled. Thank goodness!

We even took it to Ben’s field day last week and his ice water was nice and cold the entire time. The ice cubes didn’t even melt!

A few weeks ago I was given an opportunity to test out this fun new product. Since I am a mom to three boys, I jumped on this one very quickly when I was approached.

One of my kids, who will remain nameless, still cannot figure out how to lift a toilet seat, aim or flush (which seems to be a common trait among boys/men). This child is finally getting up at night and using the bathroom. He never turns on the light and the night light isn’t close to the potty. So you can imagine what I walk into every morning. I am always Clorox wiping that bathroom! Well what if there was a cool product that would illuminate the toilet the moment that there’s any motion or movement nearby.

Well you are in luck. There is. It’s called the IlluiBowl and it’s awesome. The color that I have it set to is red but you can change it. The boys love the red … It reminds them of the Star Wars Dark Side! Like I said I live with all boys. Everything is Star Wars!

This gadget is awesome. You attach it over the side of the toilet and the moment that someone walks in the bathroom it illuminates. It’s even scared me a few times. I forgot that it was on there one night when I ran it to put towels away. But it works and even though I still have to clean the bathroom quite often, it definitely hasn’t been as horrific. Overall this is a pretty awesome product that I would recommend. The only issue that I have had is the inside suction cup doesn’t always attach but it has had no effect on the use of the product.

IllumiBowl is:

Motion Activated

Easy to Clean

Splashproof

You can set your IllumiBowl to any single color or color-rotate (Red, Orange, Green, Teal, Blue, Purple, Pink, White). Your IllumiBowl color changing night light will make your toilet bowl glow every time you walk into your bathroom at night.

Head on over here to order your very own IllumiBowlfor just $19.99 or you can enter the contest below to win your very own IllumiBowl

Over the past few weeks Owen has become obsessed with coloring and drawing. He has his drawer full of blank paper, pencils and crayons and he will spend quite a long time scribbling on his paper. It’s too cute! Now he get’s the chance to showcase his inner artist in the tub now too. Thanks to Nuby’s Bath time Crayons. He loves these crayons.

I am always leery when it comes to bath time paints and crayons. Will it stain the tile or the tub? Will it stain my kid? I haven’t had the best of luck in the past with crayons in the tub but these have been great. The cleanup is super easy and they wipe off with just a washcloth or paper towel. I forgot to clean the tub the other day after his latest masterpiece and they design sat on the tub and tile for over a day but I had no problem cleaning them. They wiped right off with a wet washcloth. No staining, no discoloration on my tub.

So Owen can continue to create wonderful works of art in the tub (and sometimes even on his brother). They do love coloring on each other. It’s hilarious the designs that Sean will draw on Owen’s back! The only issue with the crayons that I had is that they tend to fall out of the plastic holders. They don’t click as easily as I hoped but Owen just took them out of the plastic and now he just colors without them. So no major issue, but it was a little frustrating at first for him. But overall, we love these crayons!

Painting is one of the things that my kids ask to do but I almost always try to come up with some excuse to get out of it. “Oh we don’t have time, we need to finish homework and baths”, “Ummmm, mommy just cleaned today, can we please paint another day?” or my favorite one “We are all out of paint brushes”. I pray that they will forget all about it for a few weeks and then I can find a new set of excuses. It’s such a hassle for me and not worth it some days. If they do get to paint it means that I am in a really good mood or I just picked up a new box of wine that day! Next to Play-Dough, painting is pretty much the only craft that I despise pulling out of our craft closet. I hate the brushes, the drops of wet paint everywhere and the constant dipping of brushes into water or God forbid into another color. Why on earth would a kid think it was a good idea to mix colors! Okay that’s just my neurotic self talking. I know they are just being creative. But for the past few years I have left the painting to their teachers at school.

But there has to be an easier way, I have tried all sorts of painting products. I like the paint with water books but the kids do not enjoy them as much as I do.

I have never heard of Kwik Stix until they reached out to me. But let me tell you that I absolutely LOVE THEM. I wasn’t sure if the kids would like it as much as their mommy, but they did. Sean and Ben both had a blast painting. They kept drawing pictures of me for some odd reason. Maybe they were just so happy that I let them paint for once in 2015.

Kwik Stix are awesome, clean and there’s virtually NO CLEANUP! They look like the size and shape of a standard glue stick but its paint in there and there’s NO MESS. Did you hear me, no dripping water or paint onto clothes or my floors. You don’t even need a brush, a smock or a bowl of clean water. You just take off the cap then twist it up from the bottom. It’s a very soft texture but it’s not runny or drippy.

The kids had a blast drawing pictures and painting them in. It is also a fast drying paint and has the finish of real paint. They said that it would dry within 90 seconds and that was pretty accurate. The one small bit of paint that Sean got on the counters wiped off easily 1/2 hour later when I finally noticed it. The only downside was that they were a little thick. Sean was working on a project and couldn’t stay in the lines. So it would be great if maybe they had another version with a smaller tip for smaller projects. But other than that they worked great!

I have already let Sean use them twice this week! That’s shocking for me, painting before school on a Tuesday morning. WHAT? I figured why not, there’s no clean-up for me. He just puts the cap back on and viola we are done and I have some pretty cute pictures to hang up.

I would definitely recommend these for kids of all ages. It’s the perfect Christmas gift or stocking stuffer this year. You can find them over at Amazon in a variety of packs. It’s better than a crayon since it works on all types of materials. Sean painted a canvas bag and it even works on wood, cardboard or canvas. I might try a pumpkin later on and see if it sticks onto there! That would save a lot of carving and mess next Halloween! Heck, I even let Owen do some painting with them. He tried to eat them at first but then he got the hang of it after I showed him how they worked.

Make bath time easier and more enjoyable with the Nûby™ Sea Scooper™! After bath time fun is over, Nûby’s Sea Scooper™ makes cleaning quick and easy. Watch your baby giggle with delight as you scoop your favorite Nûby™ bath time toys into the whale’s tummy. The pail has special drain holes built-in allowing excess water to easily drain away from the toys and quickly air dry. Equipped with easy installation wall hooks, Nûby’s Sea Scooper™ keeps bath time toys neatly on the bathroom wall.

The boys love this guy. This guy has survived Sean’s numerous attempts to yank it off the wall. I usually try and put all of Owen’s toys in here so I know where his are without searching through all of the kids smaller ones. I love this cute little whale because he helps me keep the kids tub neat and tidy. I hate when the toys just sit in the tub. They get moldy and gross because they are not drying out in between baths.

When Owen is done with his bath, I just scoop up all of the toys and hang it on the wall hook. Any excess water that I may have scooped up will drain out of the holes! The kids love it and mommy loves it! This little guy is the perfect addition to bath time fun. Sean just enjoys playing with him during his bath {not just at cleanup}. He pretends that the whale is eating all of his other toys! And he does enjoy helping me cleanup at the end which is an added bonus!

Available at these retailers:

www.BuyBabyDirect.com

www.buybuybaby.com

www.bedbathandbeyond.com

www.amazon.com

Bealls

You can follow Nuby below for information on all of their awesome baby products.

I have always wanted to start the tradition of family game night. Right now it’s very hard to do with the baby, Joey’s work schedule and homework. But I know that soon we will pick a night that works best and start our “official” game night. But we do try and squeeze in games every now and again to pass the time on a rainy day or just for fun. The kids discovered UNO this fall and have been obsessed with it ever since. I remember playing it as a young kid and I love that my boys are enjoying the same games!

A few weeks ago I received a box from Gamesformotion filled with a stack of familiar games. But there was a twist. These games had their pieces and tiles replaced with some very yummy Belgium chocolate! Yup that’s right, I said CHOCOLATE! Now we can play Candy Land, Scrabble, Battleship and many other games with actual pieces of chocolate. The rules of the games have been modified a bit but nothing too confusing and who cares, you are playing with chocolate!

I finally had the perfect time to break open Candy Lane and play it with the boys. Of course it was a huge hit. The boys had a blast playing. Candy Land is already a great game but it’s even better with chocolate. Yummy! Sean won the big 1st Place medal (made out of chocolate of course). But he ate it before I could get a picture of it! Sneaky Kid!

Guess Who? Is next on our list to play.

All games will be available for purchase at mass retail stores such as Target, CVS, at select SuperValu store locations, Kmart, Amazon.com, Meijer and Fred Meyer, Bed Bath & Beyond and select smaller distributors with retail prices starting at only $9.99.

I was in Target this past weekend and found a display in the Christmas section. I would have snapped a cute photo but my phone was dead! So keep an eye out for these fun {and delicious} games! They are the perfect gift this holiday season! But you really don’t need to wait. Enjoy them today.

I did not receive compensation for this review but I did receive sample products from Gamesformotion. All of the opinions stated above are my own.

Well it’s about that time that I start breaking Owen from his bottle. First off, I am done washing the darn things! I love his bottles to death but there are a TON of parts! Second, he is almost a year old {eek tomorrow} and I will be transitioning him off of his formula {thank goodness}! I have transitioned all of my kids from formula to whole milk by using sippy cups! But it’s never easy finding the right cup. I have tried them all. This time around I started off with the Nuby Clik-it™ No Spill™ Grip n’ Sip™. So far so good!

He has not had any problems drinking his water and formula from the cups. He really does enjoy it. Of course he left this one in the cart at Target!!! But I had purchased a few others so thankfully he still has those! It’s great! The only spill we had is because when I washed the cup, I didn’t put the plastic sippy part in the lid correctly! Other than that the click technology has worked perfectly! Besides my own small error, they haven’t leaked at all and you can really here the “click” when you twist the lid on.